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Responsible Care Forum: Is the chemical industry credible?
How do stakeholders such as the press, the Greens or trade unions perceive the commitments made by the chemical industry through Responsible Care? And how do chemical companies and federations enhance credibility and build trust through Responsible Care? The annual European Responsible Care Forum on 24 February invited participants to discuss the “credibility of industry commitments”.
Sonja van Renssen, environmental journalist at ENDS Daily, shared her views explaining that writing for a daily publication depended on quick reaction and rapid information from the relevant sources – which is often a challenge for industry and more particularly trade associations. “Responsible Care is nice but quite intangible”, van Renssen continued and recommended seeking independent verification. Frustrating as it might be for industry, “bad news is good news”, she explained. “Would a Responsible Care initiative of the media business make a change?” remarked Solvay-expert Jacques de Gerlache.
Trade Unions: Social dialogue enhances credibility
Reinhard Reibsch, Secretary General of the European Mine, Chemicals and Energy Workers’ Federation, urged industry to get more involved in the Social Dialogues with trade unions at national and European level. Workers, he explained, had a vital interest in their safety and health at work and thus in Responsible Care. This involvement could effectively balance perceptions that Responsible Care was merely a device to prevent legislation. Apart from individual case studies presented by company experts, the Italian and German industry associations’ shared their approaches to third-party verification of Responsible Care. A recent Cefic survey among member associations shows that a majority are still using Self Assessment as their primary process of verification.Greens: Lack of action regarding lifecycle of chemicals
Axel Singhofen, advisor to the Greens in the European Parliament, commented that Responsible Care was far from being a sufficient “commitment to sustainability”. It was high time that industry delivered on its claims to Product Stewardship. With a number of concrete concerns he made his point that industry’s action was often a strategy to avoid or slow down legislative action rather than to properly manage the risks of chemicals throughout their lifecycle. While acknowledging different positions in the risk evaluation of individual products, de Gerlache appealed to Singhofen and all attendees that both sides should give up reductionist ways of thinking and seek for common positions to contribute to sustainable development.
Cefic Executive Director Daniel Verbist concluded that addressing the sustainable use of chemicals throughout the value chain was a huge challenge that could only face in close partnership with all stakeholders involved. Credibility came with acting in this field but also by pointing out the strong contributions of the chemical industry to society’s needs.
See programme, presentations and more information on Responsible Care
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